Business owners in small downtowns like Winchester have seen extreme turnover and had to confront a new world where fierce competition from online retailers like Amazon has shrunken foot traffic.

But among the hardship and changing landscape, at least one Winchester business is thriving. It may have the appearance of a typical hometown retail store, but Craft Beer Cellar on Thompson Street was the first franchised location of an operation that is now a nationwide success.

The store that co-founders Suzanne Schalow and Kate Baker, along with co-owner Marla Yarid-De La Cruz, have run in Belmont for the last six years has exploded into 24 different locations across 11 different states from Massachusetts to California.

“Those three woman are the smartest people we have ever met when it comes to beer,” said David Leshowitz, who along with his wife Amanda and third owner Richard Schimpf, took over Craft Beer Cellar on Thompson Street in April. “They will give you the shirt off their backs.”

Schalow said she and Baker, who had fallen in love with beer in the mid-1990s, were looking for a break from their previous profession in the restaurant business when the idea hit them.

“One day, Kate said, ‘What are we going to do?’” said Schalow. “I said, 'Lets open a beer store.' It’s everyone’s dream to try and work for yourself,””

At the time the two opened the first CBC on Leonard Street in Belmont, the craft beer industry was taking off.

According to the Brewers Association, a national nonprofit trade organization, craft breweries in the United States grew by 11 percent in 2010. That number has climbed steadily, and by 2015, retail value in the industry was $19.8 billion, representing a 19.3 percent share of the total U.S. retail beer market.

When CBC opened, Schalow said they did everything they could to avoid being the typical liquor store, “A place where beer goes to die.”

Customers won’t find Blue Moon in CBC, said Schalow, adding that the store sells 750 to 800 different craft beers. While there is a big selection of international craft beers, local craft beers from New England make up 35 to 45 percent of sales, she said.

Customer service is another key component that has made the store a success.

Schalow and Baker are experts in the beer industry.

Schalow is a certified Cicerone and has taken the Master Cicerone exam, a certification that require years to obtain and shows a comprehensive knowledge of beer and highly refined tasting ability. Baker is studying for the advanced Cicerone certification exam, which is one level below the Master Cicerone.

Schalow also said CBC employs enough beer geeks so there is one for every three customers. People can take 30 seconds or 30 minutes picking out their beer, and the geeks are at their service whether helping them find a beer that suits their preference or the perfect beer to put in a chocolate cake recipe, she said.

“Other beer is not meeting the standards of the educated consumer,” said Yarid-De La Cruz.

“The consumer right now in a lot of ways is more overwhelmed than ever,” added Baker. “That’s where we come in. People trust us. It’s important to build that trust.”

The first day CBC opened, Schalow said there were 25 people standing on the sidewalk waiting to get in. About six or seven months later, they wanted to open a second store, and elected to go with the franchise model.

On July 1, 2013, the Winchester shop opened, the first of several locations that would open in Massachusetts.

Then they started opening nationwide. There is one in Bozeman, Montana, with great views of Yellowstone National Park. There is a store in Tampa, Florida, in a strip mall. And as of last week, Schalow said they had an agreement with a person planning to open a CBC in Dublin, California.

CBC stores are not just franchised to anyone. The team looks for people who are passionate about craft beer that really know the market they are in.

Leshowitz said working with dedicated beer geeks like Schalow, Baker and Yarid-De La Cruz has made all the difference since he, Amanda and Schimpf took over the Winchester store.

The three are always accessible, he said, and help out with everything from beer selection to making connections with other beer distributors he would not have access to otherwise.

For instance, said Leshowitz, through the Belmont owners, he was able to get cases from Fiddlehead Brewing in Vermont, an extremely popular brewer. People came in from all over the state and the cases were gone within two hours, he said.

“If we break even we’d be happy,” said Leshowitz, who said sales have done well since they took over management. “People really appreciate the store. They come in and say thanks for being here. It makes you fell like you’re not just selling any ordinary product.”

If the person looking to franchise the store is not the right fit or only in it for the profits, Schalow and Baker’s motto, as said in the Meghan Trainor song “No” is, “My name is no, my sign is no.”

The CBC team is looking to have 30 locations by the end of the year. Schalow said it is likely they will stop franchising their model in Massachusetts soon, in order to not over-saturate the market.

Business is flourishing, the three owners say, but the team continues to push forward because they believe the “honeymoon phase” of the craft beer industry will soon end, and the beer geeks said they hope to serve the educated beer consumer for a long time.

“We look at them and chuckle,” said Schalow. “Well, we did this. We always said we want to push hard and try to make a difference.”

This article has been updated to reflect that Schalow is not a Master Cicerone, but has taken the Master Cicerone exam.